Prabhupāda: No, God is realized only by the devotees. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). So actually, God is realized through devotion. There is no other way. So in the proportion of one's development of devotional spirit, one realizes God. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). The proportion, devotion required. But real process is devotion.
Jayādvaita: But how can that be scientifically presented? How can we accept that scientifically?
Prabhupāda: No, no, these rascal scientists, they cannot understand God. Those who were actually advanced, just like Professor Einstein and others, they believed so, that there is God, there is brain. (break) . . .somebody was talking about another scientist, big scientist? Who was talking about?
Jayādvaita: That Wernher Von Braun.
Prabhupāda: Ah, hah.
Jayādvaita: That space scientist, he has accepted that there must be God.
Prabhupāda: He has, yes. So those who are really scientist. . .
Kṛṣṇadāsa: Śrīla Prabhupāda? Using modern observatories or large telescopes, scientists have photographed other brahmāṇḍas. At least to my impression they appear to be other solar systems. Like they have a sun and planets around them. Does that mean the material covering between the different brahmāṇḍas is invisible?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Kṛṣṇadāsa: Is that correct? Jaya.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But one of the coverings is earth.
Prabhupāda: This is the covering of the universe. Covering you as far as you can see, that is covering.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Aren't there eight. . . Aren't there coverings of the eight elements?
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is above.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So he's saying that they have seen beyond that.
Prabhupāda: How they can see?
Kṛṣṇadāsa: That was my question.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda says how can they see?
Kṛṣṇadāsa: No, for example. . .
Prabhupāda: No, they take all these stars as sun. But that is not fact. Sun is one. In each universe there is one sun in the middle. In this universe in the middle, from the circumference, two hundred billions, no, two billion.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Two billion.
Prabhupāda: And above the sun there is moon. Then Mars, then Venus, like that. 1,600,000 miles above, above, above.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So the moon is further away than the sun.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore I say they have never gone to moon. Never gone.
Hṛdayānanda: What is that? Rāhu. (break)
Nalinī-kaṇṭa: They say that they can see planets trillions of miles away.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Nalinī-kaṇṭa: They say that they can see stars trillions of miles away.
Prabhupāda: But they cannot go. That's a fact. According to their estimation, the moon is the nearest. So they cannot go there. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. (break) . . . deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). Moon is one of the heavenly planets. So unless one is very advanced in karma-kāṇḍa, offering sacrifices, nobody can go there. It is not so easy. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Those who are more and more higher status of goodness, they are promoted in the highest planet. Not by drinking wine and driving a sputnik one can. . . (laughter) It is not so easy. (break) . . .also drink soma-rasa. The residents of the moon, they live for ten thousand years.